A WORKINGTON woman has spoken of the “sheer horror” she felt when she was followed along a remote footpath by a flasher assessed by police to be a “high risk” sex offender. 

The terrifying incident happened at Derwent Howe at 8.30am on September 26 last year as the victim, a retired woman, walked her dog. 

Christopher Peter Scott, 32, who is a convicted sex offender, wept and apologised after he admitted exposure when he appeared before Carlisle’s Rickergate Magistrates’ Court. 

Prosecutor Andy Travis outlined how the victim was walking her dog near to an area known as Slag Bank when she noticed the defendant was following her while he had his hands down his pants. 

When she reached a wooded area, said Mr Travis, the defendant briefly walked away from her but kept turning round to stare at her. It was at this point that he dropped his trousers and exposed himself. 

Worried for her safety, the woman immediately called her husband, who advised her to quickly go to a more public place where there would be more people. She walked to the Recycling Lives building.

But even after she had walked into the compound there, she could still see Scott standing outside the gates, staring at her. Scott's behaviour that day had been premeditated and "predatory," said Mr Travis.

The defendant’s past convictions, the court heard, include an offence of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. This involved him performing a sex act while watching a children’s football match in Silloth.

Mr Travis said: “He has been assessed by his supervising police officers as a very high-risk offender.”

In her victim statement, the woman spoke of the “sheer horror” she experienced as Scott followed her and exposed himself. 

 “Before this took place,” she said in the statement, “I would walk my dog alone around the area of Slag Bank on a regular basis and did so for eight years. It was quiet and peaceful and I felt very safe.” 

She said she felt perfectly confident walking her dog in the area.

“All that changed on Monday, September 26 when this male followed me and exposed himself.” 

She described feeling “terrified” and recalled how she had not known what to do. “I felt the male was very menacing towards me. The way he stared at me was very menacing. 

“This is one of the parts of the incident I have flashbacks about… What sticks with me is the fear I experienced.” Since the incident, said the woman, she had sought advice from a martial arts expert on self-defence. 

She had also become more conscious of her surroundings and questioned everything and everybody. She had also given up going to Slag Bank, which she regarded as a big loss. 

The woman added: “I have had a few sleepless nights. It’s just kept replaying in my mind.” 

Presiding magistrates Mark Gear told the defendant: “We have a number of concerns about your behaviour, as you can imagine.”

He spoke of the “horrendous impact on the victim, the huge changes that she has now made to her life,” including her seeking to learn martial arts just to feel safe when leaving the house.”

Mr Gear said: “She’s been forced to alter the way she goes about her daily life, and where she walks her dog.” Those factors and the fact that Scott was already on three court orders for previous offending, meant the case was so serious that it should be dealt with by a crown court judge.

Magistrates sent Scott’s case to Carlisle Crown Court for sentence on February 16. In the meantime, the defendant, of Station Road, Workington, will remain remanded in custody.

Before the case concluded, Scott said he wanted to be released, telling the magistrates: “I’ve been here for a long time; it’s really horrible. I think I’ve learned a really big lesson. I’ve cried every night.

“I just want to leave and go back home to see my dog and my family.”